Although the Blue Devils have lost four of their last five games, they have a chance this weekend to finish nonconference play on a high note.
Duke hosts Campbell Friday at 6:30 p.m. and UNC-Wilmington Saturday at 4 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium looking to bounce back from two straight losses last weekend at the LBSU/LMU Baden Invitational. Despite the losses after a sweep of Harvard, head coach Jolene Nagel was pleased with some of what she saw at the tournament in California and hopes her team can build off its performances this week.
“The biggest thing is minimizing unforced errors,” Nagel said. “We were very disappointed we weren’t able to come home with three Ws, but in review of the videotape, some of the things that our team did were really encouraging and great to see.”
Among the encouraging signs for the Blue Devils (4-4) is that freshmen outside hitters Samantha Amos and Natalie Schilling both appeared in two matches last weekend after missing time early in the year with injuries. Nagel also said that junior outside hitter Cadie Bates—who played in 27 matches last year and started nine—is close to returning from injury and taking the floor for the first time all year.
“We just started to get them in practice full, so I still feel like we’re developing as a team,” Nagel said. “They’re doing well, it’s just that we had to do all this in a very significant part of our season with some tough out of conference matches when we wanted to be able to get some significant wins.”
This young crop of outside hitters could join freshman Jamie Stivers and sophomore Jessi Bartholomew—who have started most of the Blue Devils’ matches this season—in the rotation. Stivers reached double digits in kills twice last weekend, including a career-high 17 in Duke’s loss to Long Beach State.
Although the Blue Devils have not been consistent enough to get wins lately, the Fighting Camels (4-7) offer Duke a chance to get over the hump. The Blue Devils have defeated Campbell all seven times the two teams have faced each other, most recently in a 3-1 win in 2014.
Like Duke, the Fighting Camels are struggling entering the weekend with two straight losses against East Carolina and UNC-Wilmington. Campbell’s only two players with more than two kills per set are senior Loni Kreun with 2.5 and sophomore Jessica Stocking with 2.0. Duke has a more balanced attack, with five players exceeding two kills per set.
The Seahawks (9-1) will likely present a bigger challenge on a quick turnaround Saturday afternoon, but Nagel is confident her team will not overlook the Fighting Camels.
“They want to be in the moment wherever we are, so I think that has helped us stay focused, and I don’t expect that they’re going to look past anyone,” Nagel said. “I know that’s holding them up on a high pedestal, but that hasn’t been their pattern so far, which I’m really happy to say.”
UNC-Wilmington is riding a seven-game winning streak and will be well-rested with a chance to notch its first win in program history against the Blue Devils.
The Seahawks have not faced a ranked opponent yet, but have lost just one set in their last four matches.
Duke beat UNC-Wilmington handily last season in one of its best wins of nonconference play, as middle blocker Leah Meyer led the way with a career-high 17 kills and a .484 hitting percentage. The Seahawks' experienced lineup will be looking for revenge this year.
UNC-Wilmington relies heavily on senior outside hitter Nicole Lott, who leads the team with 3.3 kills per set, 3.4 digs per set and eight solo blocks. The Blue Devils held Lott to just seven kills and a .050 hitting percentage last season, and will depend on its blockers and defensive specialists to deliver another strong performance Saturday.
Duke’s hitters will also likely have their hands full trying to overpower UNC-Wilmington’s blockers. The Seahawks lead the Colonial Athletic Association with 2.6 blocks per set and boast five starters that are 5-foot-11 or taller.
“They’re a really good team, they won their conference last year and they went to the NCAA tournament,” Nagel said. “I look for it to be a very competitive match for us on Saturday.”
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